Two Britons killed and 180 dead in Bali bomb blast

At least two Britons have been killed in the Bali bomb attacks that have left more than 180 people dead, officials said today.

Another 18 Britons are among the hundreds injured and around are 15 missing after the blasts tore through a nightclub packed with tourists.

British Ambassador to Jakarta Richard Gozney told BBC News 24: "In terms of British people, we think there are two people confirmed dead and 15 in hospital.

"Another dozen have already been discharged from hospital.

"There are a further 15 people who haven't been accounted for yet. That doesn't mean to say that they are dead, but it does mean to say that we are trying to track them down."

Officials on Bali said the death toll had risen to 182 with hundreds more injured.

As suspicion for the attack on the Indonesian island fell on sympathisers of the al Qaeda terrorist group the Foreign Office warned all travellers to stay away from Bali.

The Sari Club in the popular beach resort of Kuta had been full of holidaymakers before the explosion late on Saturday evening - visitors from Australia, Britain, New Zealand, France, Sweden, the United States and many other western countries.

Another bomb went off almost simultaneously near the United States consulate in Bali's capital Denpasar but no-one was reported injured.

Today, the Sari Club on the main street in the popular beach resort of Kuta was a mass of smouldering ruins while other nightspots nearby - discos, restaurants and a hotel - had their roofs blown in and walls smashed.

Shattered walls and pavements were covered with blood and body parts were scattered in the debris.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard today said the attacks were proof that the war on terror must go on.

After speaking to Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri he said authorities from both countries were convinced the bombings had been carried out by terrorists.

"This wicked and cowardly attack, clearly on the evidence available to us, is an act of terrorism that can have no justification," Howard said.

"I can only say again that the war against terrorism must go on with unrelenting vigour and with an unconditional commitment," he said.

Mr Gozney underlined the warning for Britons to stay away from Bali.

"We fear there is a possibility that this could happen again, I'm not predicting it, or anything like that, but they have done it once, they could do it twice if they want to prove their ghastly point yet again," he said.

The ambassador added that it was too early to say who was responsible, though he did not rule out Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda fundamentalist muslim terror group.

"Bali is overwhelmingly Hindu, and has a strong cultural sense of its own. So one has to assume that these are outsiders who have gone in in a small group and conducted this devastating attack, clearly targeting the foreign presence there."

Meanwhile thousands of tourists were trying to flee the island today, fearful of a repeat attack.

"This is the first and last time that I come to Bali," said Lee Eldred, 30, from Kent, as he left Kuta.

Witnesses described scenes of terror immediately after the explosion.

Bloodied survivors fled the bar, some with limbs blown off. Cars and motorbikes on the road in front were alight, forming a wall of flames blocking people's escape.

One survivor, who was next to the Sari Club at the time of the explosion, said that "people were fleeing, yelling, screaming, asking for help."

Richard Hechnier, 29, from the Australian city of Perth, said the blast was caused by a car bomb.

"I saw people on fire. Many people were carrying others. Most were bleeding. Everything was on fire. It was chaos. It was dark except for the flames," Hechnier said.

A Downing Street spokesman said today: "The Prime Minister is horrified by the explosions in Bali overnight.

"He completely and utterly condemns this appalling terrorist act. His sympathies are with the families of the dead and injured."

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that the attack had been "committed by the most evil and most perverted people who think that some political aim of theirs can be achieved by attacking mainly young people who are enjoying themselves and in turn contributing a great deal to the Indonesian economy.

"So it is indeed the most appalling event and I sent my condolences to relatives of those Britons who have been killed and to those who have been injured and to everybody else who has suffered in this terrible explosion."

Mr Straw told BBC Radio 4 News: "As far as al Qaeda are concerned it's too early to say whether they were the people behind this terrible extremist terrorist event. What is palpable is that it is a terrorist incident which has been perpetrated by very extreme uncaring people.

"We can speculate about which organisation may or may not be responsible.

"There have been concerns around the world about the number of Indonesian-based terrorist cells but we obviously have no specific information that they were going to perpetrate this kind of explosion, still less that they would do this in a tourist resort like Bali.

"Had we had that kind of information we would have changed our travel advice before the event rather than having had to after the event."

The new Foreign Office advice to travellers is against all travel by British citizens to Bali and against all non-essential travel to Indonesia.

"I do understand how anybody who had relatives or friends in Bali is going to be extremely anxious and we are all the time, hour by hour, upgrading the staffing to take account of pressure people obviously feel."

The British consulate in Bali put out an emergency number for people worried about relatives and friends 0062-361-270-601 and the Foreign Office in London set up an information line on 020-7008-0000.